ORDA: Heater malfunction prompted evacuation

March 1, 2013

LAKE PLACID - A heating unit on the Conference Center at Lake Placid's roof malfunctioned Thursday morning, prompting a brief evacuation of the Main Street building.

The Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department was called to the Conference Center, which is operated by the state Olympic Regional Development Authority, following reports of fumes at the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism and Lake Placid Convention and Visitors Bureau. One truck and 16 members responded to the call at about 10:43 a.m.

"Firefighters searched the building with gas meters and found reading(s) of carbon monoxide in the first floor of the building," a fire department press release said.

Article Photos

Kerry Shannon, left, an employee of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism and Lake Placid Convention and Visitors Bureau, speaks to Lake Placid’s head fire driver, Brad Jaques, while firefighters search the Conference Center at Lake Placid for the source of a carbon monoxide leak Thursday.(Photo for the Enterprise — Richard Rosentreter)

ORDA spokesman Jon Lundin told the Enterprise that firefighters traced the source of the carbon monoxide to a heating unit on the Main Street side of the Conference Center's roof. He said the unit was taken out of service.

Firefighters used fans to blow the fumes out of the building. Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service personnel checked Visitors Bureau employees for signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, but no one required medical treatment.

Traffic was diverted away from the Conference Center during the incident. Lundin said ORDA plans to repair the heater.